


3 Orphans and a God Walk into a Bar

by Achilles (poguschampus)



Series: Children and Gods [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adoption, Angst, DadSchlatt, Family, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Gods, Hurt/Comfort, Phil is dead (sorry), Sleepy Bois Inc Angst, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, slimecicle cinematic universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29011572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poguschampus/pseuds/Achilles
Summary: Running, running, running. Tears streaming down the three children’s faces as they leave behind the corpse of the person who was once their father. In some other life he’d wake up and rescue them just in the nick of time. This is not that life.Red hot, agonizing pain flowing throughout the oldest’s body. Pain that only he feels.Ice cold, anguished cries falling from their lips. The pain that they share.The pain they’ll always share, so long as they’re alone together.Philza, God of Life and Death, but more importantly their dad, is dead. He’s gone forever.----He remembers Tubbo’s cries of pain as small horns sprouted from his head and a tiny goat tail grew from his back. Schlatt didn’t mean to curse a kid.Slime has made many mistakes, ones that he can't undo. He hopes to at least make up for them.
Relationships: Family - Relationship, Sleepy Bois Inc. - Relationship
Series: Children and Gods [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170272
Comments: 47
Kudos: 303





	1. Stealing (and Getting Caught)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirty crime boys do crime

_Running, running, running. Tears streaming down the three children’s faces as they leave behind the corpse of the person who was once their father. In some other life he’d wake up and rescue them just in the nick of time. This is not that life._

_Red hot, agonizing pain flowing throughout the oldest’s body. Pain that only he feels._

_Ice cold, anguished cries falling from their lips. The pain that they share._

_The pain they’ll always share, so long as they’re alone together._

_Philza, God of Life and Death, but more importantly their dad, is dead. He’s gone forever._

Technoblade jolts awake, quickly sitting up. His eyes scan across his two brothers, who are lightly snoring beside him. He sighs in relief. They’re safe.

His relief is short lived as the beginnings of a headache start to form. A headache caused by the one and only voices in his head.

_Bad dream?_

_Are you okay?_

_Everything’s fine._

“Please stop,” Technoblade whispers, his quiet voice shaky. “Get out of my head.” He reaches for the cloak he’s been wearing the past few months, the all-too worn fabric almost a comfort. Almost. The cloak is a necessity at this point, concealing his newly monstrous features.

Technoblade stares at the leather. He spares a moment to look around and make sure no one’s watching before he buries his face in the cloak, his body shaking from sobs of agony and heavy, painful breaths.

He wants to scream. He could. Chat warns him against it. The children could be found if he did. He agrees.

“Techno?” Wilbur rubs his eyes groggily. “Are you okay?”

Techno rips his head away from the cloak and hums in what he hopes is a reassuring yes. It comes out shaky.

Wilbur crawls closer to Techno and grabs at his shirt. “Are you sure?”

Techno nods hesitantly. He isn’t, but Wilbur doesn’t need to know that, he reasoned.

Wilbur stares at the shell of a brother he once knew. Ever since the day his dad—no, Phil—died, Techno was hit the hardest, both physically and mentally. Cursed with a body he no longer knows and cursed with the knowledge of what a dead man looks like.

Wilbur and Techno used to look the exact same. Same eyes, same glasses, even down to the bridge of their noses. Tommy was the odd one out then, with his blonde hair and blue eyes contrasting his brothers’ brown. Oh, how happy their eyes once were.

Ever since the day Techno was cursed to look like a monster when he was the furthest thing from it. The real monster was the one who cursed him and forced their father to watch as his son cried out in pain, mutating into someone he didn’t know.

That’s what he saw in his final moments. Wilbur would never forget. None of them will ever forget.

Wilbur sometimes wishes they could. Maybe they’d be able to find a new family without the fear of losing that one. Maybe they could just be a family without parents, unburdened by the loss of their father…

Phil. His name is Phil.

Wilbur wants to separate himself as much as he can.

The twins go back to sleep, snuggled against each other for warmth. The youngest follows close behind, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself.

\--------

Tommy is the first to wake. His bright blue eyes flutter open as the morning light shines through the breaks in the trees. The dew has made their makeshift campsite a bit wet, but he’s unbothered by it.

He wiggles his way out of the warm embrace of his still-sleeping brother, careful not to wake him up. He manages to do so with only the slightest shift in Wilbur’s arm.

He’s proud of himself. Over the passing months he’s become much sneakier, which is helpful for his little pickpocketing adventures. It’s quite sad from an outsider’s perspective, but his seven-year-old brain isn’t able to comprehend the weight of his predicament just yet.

Tommy shivers under the chilly morning air. Birds are faintly chirping in the distance. He stares out into the forest and listens to see what else he can hear.

Techno is the second to rise, his senses muddled from last night, his eyes and cheeks still slightly puffy and tear-stained, but still aware enough to see Tommy zoning out.

Techno sneaks up behind Tommy and puts his hand on his shoulder, and Tommy shrieks at the sudden appearance. “Whatcha up to, Tommy?” Techno asks with a laugh.

“I’m listening.” Tommy hums in quiet thought.

“Not well enough, it seems.” Techno ruffles Tommy’s hair affectionately. Tommy huffs angrily at that comment, and Techno chuckles. “Why don’t you go with Wilbur to get breakfast today?”

“Why can’t you ever go?” Tommy whines.

“You know I can’t,” Techno says solemnly. The two boys remember the first time their family tried to go into a village with Techno exposed, and how rocks and other sharp objects were thrown at them until they left. Tommy still has a scar on the back of his head from it.

“Those guys were just mean.” Tommy pouts. “Besides, you’ve got your badass cloak now!” He laughs and grins.

Techno looks flustered at the seven year old’s language. “Who taught you how to swear?” He demands.

Tommy shrugs. “I heard it from some people in the last village we visited.”

“I’m such a bad brother.” Techno sighs dramatically, but he’s smiling.

“No you’re not!” Tommy protests, hitting his small fists against Techno’s chest. “Don’t say that!”

Techno chuckles. “I’m just messin’ with ya’, kid,” he says. “I know I’m your favorite brother.” He grins mischievously. “Just don’t tell Will and we’ll be in the clear. Also don’t swear too much or it’ll become a habit.” Techno remembers the times when his father would get too comfortable and accidentally swear around him, and Techno would promise that he wouldn’t tell Tommy or Wilbur.

Tommy nods.

“What’s this about favorite brothers?” Wilbur yawns from inside the makeshift fort. “Don’t tell me you’re talking about me behind my back.”

“Never.” Tommy puts his hand on his heart, giggling.

“Mornin’ Will,” Techno says. “Mind going into the village with Tommy and grabbing breakfast?”

“Mhm. When?” Wilbur asks.

“Preferably sooner rather than later.” Techno motions to the rising sun.

“Got it. C’mon, Tommy.” Wilbur grabs two leather cloaks stashed away in the corner of the fort and hands one to his younger brother. “We’ve gotta go steal shit.”

“Not you, too!” Techno groans. “So _that’s_ why Tommy’s swearing. You’re encouraging it.”

Wilbur laughs. “Whatever do you mean, dearest brother?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Techno waves at them dismissively. “Have fun, and don’t get caught. I’ll be waiting here when you get back.” Techno’s always felt a need to reassure his brothers that he’ll still be around, and Tommy and Will appreciate it. It’s nice for them to have some sort of thing to stay grounded with.

There was one time, though, when Techno wasn’t there when the boys came back, the only noise being the wind blowing around the empty campsite. It took them thirty minutes to find Techno, who was bent over the corpse of a bird, its guts ripped out and Techno’s hands bloody, his eyes clouded with fear. That’s when they learned to not mess with him while his voices are at their peak. That’s also the day they learned the voices existed at all.

“Be back soon!” Wilbur leads Tommy by the wrist as they wave goodbye to their older brother.

\--------

Wilbur and Tommy stand in the corner of an empty alleyway, the humid air stifling.

“You know what to do, right?” Wilbur asks. Tommy nods excitedly. “Great.” Wilbur smiles gently. “Now go get ‘em.” He lightly pushes Tommy and he walks out of the alleyway.

Wilbur sighs as he watches Tommy walk into the street. Techno and him didn’t want Tommy to learn about this kind of stuff so early on in his childhood, but smaller children are less suspicious, and times were rough. He’s proven to be a fast learner, though.

Meanwhile, Tommy’s eyes flicker around the crowd, scanning to see who would be easiest to steal from. He reminds himself of Wilbur’s warning to not steal from those who have little, and looks for fuller carts and shops.

His eyes settle on a rather large cart full of bread being sold by a man with large goat horns and shaggy facial hair, beside him a young boy with much smaller, but still visible horns. The man is holding a golden coin between his pointer and middle finger and spinning it around whilst talking to a customer. Something about the man feels… familiar. Almost Phil-like. Tommy shakes the feeling off and starts to make his way to the back of the cart. They look like they wouldn’t miss a few loaves of bread, he reasons.

Tommy sneaks up behind the two unnoticed, and sees a large stash of bread underneath the main counter. If he can just get a bit closer…

“Hey!” A voice whispers from behind him. Tommy jumps and whips around to see the young boy from the cart standing behind him. “What’re you doing?” he asks, his round eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Nothing!” Tommy scratches the back of his neck nervously. Wilbur and Techno never taught him how to lie. “What are _you_ doing?”

“My dad is selling baked goods there.” The boy points to the cart in front of them. “And I’m helping him!” he says proudly.

“Shouldn’t you be up there to help him?” Tommy asks.

The boy shakes his head and chuckles. “I haven’t actually been doing much, honestly.”

Tommy’s eyes drift to the top of the boy’s fluffy brown hair and remembers the two sets of horns poking out of his head. “Are you cursed?” Tommy asks, pointing to them.

The boy looks flustered. “Not that I know of?” He laughs nervously, like it’s some sort of test.

“Then why do you look like that?” Tommy asks plainly, crossing his arms.

“I was born this way, I think.” The boy touches the tips of his horns with his finger.

“How come you’re not getting rocks thrown at you?”

“W-What?” The boy asks, shocked. “Why would we get rocks thrown at us?”

“Because you look different from ‘normal’ people.” Tommy pauses. “That’s what my brother’s say, anyway. It’s not fair, though.” He looks down, remembering the copious amounts of bruises and scratches he got from that. He rubs the back of his head where his scar is.

“Am I gonna get rocks thrown at me?” The boy asks, on the verge of tears.

“No, no, no!” Tommy tries to reassure him. “If they haven’t yet, they won’t now.”

His words fail to calm the boy down, though, as he bursts into tears and runs past Tommy to the man working the cart. Tommy watches as he stuffs his face into the man’s leg.

“Hey, what’s wrong, kiddo?” The man asks, ruffling the boy’s hair reassuringly. “Something bothering ‘ya?”

“Dad, are we gonna get rocks thrown at us?” the boy asks through tears and shaking breaths.

“Now where’d you hear that bullshit—” The man pauses. “Shit—” He smacks his forehead. “Fuck—” He growls angrily at himself but then takes a deep breath.

“Where’d you hear that?” he inquires, finally getting it right. The boy points to Tommy, who’s still standing helplessly behind the cart. He takes that as his cue to leave before booking it back into the street and then the alley.

Tommy almost runs into Wilbur trying to get away, which startles his older brother.

“Woah! You alright?” Wilbur asks. “Did you get anything?”

Tommy shakes his head, too out of breath to speak.

“Did you get caught?”

Tommy shakes his head again, and Wilbur sighs in relief.

“At least, I don’t think so,” Tommy says nervously.

“You don’t think so? Tommy, did you or did you not get caught?” Wilbur has to stop himself from shouting as to not draw attention to himself.

Tommy’s eyes water. “I-I’m sorry, I just… there was this boy, and…” His lip quivers.

“Wait, no, no, no. I didn’t mean it like that.” Wilbur hugs his younger brother close to him. “I’m sorry for getting upset.”

Tommy rubs the tears from his eyes. “You mean it?”

Wilbur smiles. “Of course.” He’s always had a short fuse but tries his best not to snap at Tommy, but having woken up twenty minutes ago without eating anything put him on edge. Whenever he snaps he always tries to make up for it, though.

“How about I give it a go?” Wilbur asks, smiling gently. Lone twelve year olds are more suspicious than seven year olds, but Wilbur decides that it should be fine if it’s just a few times, then they’ll move onto the next village. Tommy nods.

With that, Wilbur flips the hood of his cloak around his head and walks into the street, and makes sure not to go near the stall with the goat-horned man, in case he noticed at all.

He gets a good haul with a particularly unobservant fruit seller, and goes back to Tommy with his goods. As soon as Wilbur gets back Tommy’s eyes light up. “What’d you get? What’d you get?” He groans loudly as he’s greeted by a bag of fruit. “Not apples again,” he whines.

“You get nothing if you keep that attitude up.” Wilbur hits him lightly in the head, laughing. “Don’t worry, I was able to snag some strawberries.” Tommy squeals in excitement at that comment. “You can’t eat them until we get back to Techno, though.” Wilbur smiles as Tommy visibly deflates. “Oh c’mon, it’s not that long of a walk.”

Tommy groans as he wipes at his mouth, breadcrumbs falling onto his shirt.

“Wait, where’d you get bread, Tommy?” Wilbur asks nervously.

“Oh, right!” Tommy’s bounces on his heels in excitement. “I was able to get one from that cart!” He reaches into the pocket of his cloak and pulls out a partly-eaten loaf of bread. “Aren’t you proud of me?”

Wilbur frowns. This isn’t good. If he almost got caught last time it isn’t a good idea to try again, especially on the same day.

“What?” Tommy asks nervously. He knows he’s done something wrong.

“I’m very proud of you, Tommy, but…” Wilbur sighs. “Don’t try stealing from somewhere you’ve failed once, okay?”

Tommy nods. “Sorry… it just smelled so good, and they weren’t there, so…” He looks at the ground sadly.

“I’m glad you like my baking.” Wilbur and Tommy hear someone bark out a laugh behind them. They snap their heads and see the man from the cart blocking off their exit from the alleyway, still holding the coin between his fingers. The younger boy waves shyly behind him. The two brothers are frozen in terror.

“But unfortunately, I can’t have you two stealing my goods.” The man grins wickedly.

Wilbur and Tommy gulp and look at each other. They were in this deep, now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time writing with an reliable/omniscient narrator + in third person in like a year. I'm not even kidding.
> 
> PSA: I'm still continuing Just Bros Being Pals. Gonna switch between writing that and this so I don't get burnt out (:
> 
> when Techno was cursed, was he also cursed to be American? only I get to know that 
> 
> also PSA: I am in love with DadSchlatt and everything he stands for


	2. Violence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno comes to save the day (not really).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah this chapter gets pretty gore-y with its descriptions at the end. Viewer discretion is advised.
> 
> \+ a HUGE TW for blood.

Technoblade hums aimlessly, his notes off-key due to his large tusks poking out at the side of his mouth. Wilbur and Tommy were out later than usual, but he reasoned that they were fine, and it usually just meant they’d come back with a bigger haul.

He didn’t start worrying until his voices started freaking out, making a big deal about his brothers being gone, telling him to go into the village and save them. Techno shrugs them off, though. Chat has pushed him in the wrong direction more than once.

Even so, why would they want their host to run into immediate danger without any reason? Probably because they wanted bloodshed. Techno remembers the first time he lost control, Wilbur and Tommy having to drag him away from the hollowed-out bird carcass and forcing him to wash the gore covering his entire body. He shivers at the memory. It happens every so often now, but he makes sure his brothers are nowhere near him while he experiences it.

_Please go._

_You need to go save them._

_Tommy and Wilbur are being kidnapped._

“I’m not going, chat,” Techno snaps. “Everything is _fine._ They’ll be back soon.”

_They tried to steal and got kidnapped._

_Goat horned man._

_Tommy talked to this guy’s son._

Techno stops. “How do you know all that?” he asks. “You _shouldn’t_ know all that.” He sighs. “You’re probably just making it up, anyway. Listen, everyone give me a ‘one’ if they’re lying.” This always works to separate the truths and the lies.

And for the first time since this curse was placed on him, Technoblade’s head is silent. None of chat, not even the ones who would often prank him, speak. Not one.

Technoblade frantically grabs for his cloak and throws it on, panicking. “Okay, chat. I’m going, I’m going.” He dashes through the forest, not caring about how much noise he’s making. It doesn’t matter if their campsite gets found, it only matters if his brothers make it out safe. The campsite can always move, but Tommy and Wilbur can never be replaced.

Chat starts speaking up once more, giving Techno directions on which way to go. For the first time they’re all unanimous, everyone saying the exact same thing. _Left, right, left, left, across that street, down that alley._

Techno skids to a stop in front of a random alley, one you wouldn’t even notice if you weren’t looking for it. He holds his hood down to avoid showing his face.

He stares down the alley where he sees two figures, one very tall and one small, slowly approaching two other figures. As his eyes adjust to the dim lighting he can see the victims.

Wilbur and Tommy cower at the end of the alleyway, Wilbur clutching a full bag and Tommy holding a loaf of bread like a weapon, as if that’s going to do anything.

“Listen, kid. I don’t mean any harm, but I don’t appreciate thieves in my establishment—”

Techno runs up to the tall man and rams his head into his back and kicking the back of his knees, effectively throwing him to the ground. There’s a small _clink_ and a rolling sound as a small golden coin falls out of his hands.

“T-Techno?” Tommy whispers through tears.

“We don’t have time for this, Tommy, we need to go.” Techno runs up to his brothers and grabs them both by the wrists before booking it down the alleyway.

They barely even get halfway.

They all stop at the same time, their legs no longer working with their mind, accompanied by a crushing force that weighs down on their bodies, with the only thing not affected being their heads. They use that freedom to spin their heads around to see the man still on the ground, holding his hand up, his expression a mix between fury and amusement, if that even exists.

The smaller boy pushes his father gently. “Dad, what’re you doing? Don’t hurt them!” he cries out.

“Tubbo, I’m gonna need you to calm the fuck down.” He growls, seemingly at himself, then sighs. “Just— just calm down.” He stands up and picks up the coin off the ground, dusting himself off in the process. The gold shimmers in his hands ominously. Tubbo gives him a small nod.

“Now, I’m gonna need you three to promise that you _won’t_ run away upon me releasing you, or else this isn’t gonna get pretty.” The man regains his composure, his face a mask of stoicism. He spins his hand and the brothers’ bodies spin around to face him.

“There’s no way in _hell_ I’m agreeing to that,” Techno growls, then spits on the floor in front of the man. Tommy and Wilbur look at each other in shock, that being the closest thing to a curse word Techno’s ever said.

The man gets his face close to Techno’s. “Oh, feisty, aren’t we?” The man grins mockingly.

The voices in Techno’s head start to get louder. Some saying to trust the man, while the rest demand blood. Techno agrees with the majority, for once. He realizes this might be the first time he’ll actually kill someone while the voices are at their peak. He gives none of that away though as he glares at the current threat in front of him.

“That stare could kill, kid.” The man chuckles. “But unfortunately I’m a bit harder to off than most.”

“Techno, please, calm down,” Wilbur pleads, realizing what’s happening to his older brother. “I’m sure we can sort this out peacefully.”

“If you think _this_ is peaceful, Wilbur, be my guest and get kidnapped!” Techno snaps.

“Techno…” Tommy’s at a loss for words through his panicked sobs getting louder and louder. He feels someone walk up next to him and rest a hand on his shoulder in what he assumes is a reassuring gesture. It’s the boy from before, the man called him Tubbo, he thinks. Tommy glares at him and he takes that as a sign to quickly remove his hand.

“Listen, buddy, like I said, I’m not here to hurt you.” The man holds out his hands.

“So what? You’re gonna put us in prison?” Techno shouts. “Like that’s much better, ‘buddy’.”

Wilbur and Tommy glance nervously at each other again. This is the most aggressive Techno’s been in a long time, especially around two complete strangers.

“So your stress response is fight.” The man clicks his tongue in contemplation. “Got it.” He puts his hand on Techno’s shoulder. “I don’t know how else to tell ‘ya. I’m not trying to hurt—”

Techno opens his mouth and bites down hard onto the man’s hand. He makes a sound of protest before Techno whips his neck to the side and rips the man’s hand clean off.

\--------

Tubbo screams, Tommy screams, Wilbur screams. The only two who aren’t screaming are surprisingly the ones most affected. The man looks at what was once his hand, a contemplative expression on his face. Techno stares at the decapitated hand on the ground, horrified at what he’s done. But the voices only get louder, demanding more and more. Techno tries to thrash around, but the force binding him down only gets stronger, causing him to panic more.

The man calmly reaches for his decapitated hand and sticks it back onto his wrist, looking disinterested that one of his limbs have ripped off. Technoblade watches in quiet awe as the man turns his wrist a few times, testing his muscles. He walks up to Tubbo silently and places a single hand on his fluffy brown hair, which seems to calm him down. He picks him up with one arm as Tubbo buries his face into his shoulder. “There ‘ya go, bud,” he mumbles to him reassuringly.

Tommy looks at Techno with fear in his eyes. That couldn’t have been his brother… no. It was the voices. It was the voices controlling him. He refused to believe anything else. Wilbur was starting to come to the same, half-true conclusion.

“Now, I was gonna let you off with a warning, but now that you’ve scared my kid…” the man starts. If the brothers could shake in fear, they would be right now.

“Schlatt, what the _fuck_ are you doing?” A voice radiates from around them, stopping Schlatt mid-sentence. A figure appears behind him, a slight yellowy-green glow faintly radiating from his body before disappearing. “I know your moral code is sorta fucked up, but kidnapping kids, man? Really?” The man stares at Schlatt incredulously.

“Don’t fucking swear in front of Tubbo—” Schlatt sighs. “Fuck,” he mumbles to himself. He uses his free hand to rub the bridge of his nose. “I— I wasn’t gonna _kidnap_ them, Charlie.”

“It sure looked like it,” Wilbur murmurs. Schlatt shoots him a warning glare.

Charlie walks up to the three boys. “Look, little dudes. I’m gonna let you out, but you gotta promise that you won’t run. You can run later, I promise.” Something about him makes them feel at ease, and they all nod slowly.

“Great.” Charlie claps his hands together, the same yellow-green light emerging from his palms. As soon as he pulls his hands apart the three brothers can feel their muscles relax at the same time, sore from staying in a running position for so long. Wilbur and Techno sigh in relief, while Tommy looks amazed, his fear almost gone, despite his tear-stained and puffy cheeks.

“How’d you do that?” He flexes his fingers in wonder. “Are you magic?” He looks at Charlie with large, curious eyes.

Charlie gives a slightly nervous laugh. “You could say that.”

“Yeah, we are, kid.” Schlatt bends down to look Tommy in the eyes. “We aren’t performing any tricks for you, though.”

Charlie elbows Schlatt in the side and he lets out a small grunt of pain. He turns Tubbo’s head away from his hand and flips Charlie off, who merely grins.

“So what’re you doing out here, anyway?” Charlie asks.

“We’re stealing food,” Techno buts in before his brothers can make any excuses. “We’re gonna leave soon, though.”

“How soon?” Charlie tips his head to the side gently.

“As soon as you let us go back home,” Techno growls. He’s trying to keep the voices at bay for as long as possible until he can get back home.

“And where’s ‘home’?”

“Techno, this guy is definitely trying to kidnap us.” Wilbur pulls at Techno’s cloak. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, wait, wait, no—” Charlie grabs at Wilbur’s wrist, pulling Techno’s hood down all the way, exposing his tusks and golden yellow eyes, accompanied by his bright pink hair and elongated nostrils.

“Ah, shit—” Charlie groans. “I’m so bad at this.”

Schlatt stares at Techno curiously, Tubbo now sleeping in his arms. “How’d you get like that, kid?” he asks.

“None of your business,” Wilbur interrupts, stepping in front of Techno. He knows how much it hurts his brother to remember. He doesn’t want to force him to when he’s already struggling.

“It’s my business when you’re the ones stealing from me, kid,” Schlatt snarls, turning his attention towards Techno. “How the hell did you even find us, anyway?”

Techno’s eyes fog over, Schlatt reminding him of chat being the last straw before he completely broke. He grabs the nearest person—who just so happens to be Charlie—and digs his nails into his skin, scarily calm.

“Ow, kid, that hurts!” Charlie tries to pry his arm from Techno’s grasp, but it’s futile. “What the hell is he doing?” he asks, his voice raising up in pitch each word.

“Techno, stop!” Wilbur tries to grab his twin but is only met with a cold, lifeless stare. He stumbles backwards, startled. “We uh…” Wilbur tries to think of anything. “We need to get him to the forest!” he exclaims, remembering their first run-through with these kinds of fits.

Schlatt rubs his wrist, grimacing. “I suggest you do what the kid says before he bites your goddamn arm off.”

“Alright, grab on, kids. That includes you, Schlatt.” Charlie smirks. Wilbur and Tommy do what he says, holding onto the arm Techno isn’t attacking. Schlatt rolls his eyes at his comment but begrudgingly puts a hand on Charlie’s shoulder.

The world seems to spin faster than Wilbur and Tommy thought possible while the light enveloped them. After a moment of spinning, they’re in the forest surrounding the village. Tommy immediately barrages Charlie with questions, but Wilbur’s looking for any living thing for Techno. He spots a bird in a tree and nudges Techno gently. He looks over at his brother with the same, lifeless eyes before he follows his hand into the tree.

Techno stares at the bird for a few moments before dashing up the tree, climbing at a speed that should not be natural for a twelve year old. Tommy and Wilbur watch in a mixture of fear and awe as Techno jumps from the lower branch and grabs the bird from the tree, slamming it onto the ground without hesitation, not even flinching. Blood squirts from the bird’s now lifeless body.

“I suggest you two turn around.” Charlie pushes the kids gently, his face one of revolt. Schlatt doesn’t even try to hide his look of disgust as he holds Tubbo closer to his chest and covers his ears.

Techno can feel his fist pummel over and over again into the body of the lifeless bird. He can’t do anything about it. Chat screams in encouragement with each pounding fist sinking them deeper and deeper into chants, mostly the ones containing blood somewhere in them.

It isn’t enough for them, though. It’s never enough. Techno watches as his hands pluck off the feathers one by one, unable to control them anymore. He digs his nails into the now mutilated creature’s throat and watches as blood seeps out, pouring into the beds of his fingernails.

It’s still not enough. Techno grabs a nearby branch and sticks it through the corpse, moving it around for extra effect. The rest of the blood seeps onto the ground and onto his cloak. Well, it’s already over most of his clothes anyway. He shudders out a breath before pulling the stick out of the ground and throwing it aside. He stares at his bloodied hands, most of it not his, as he comes back to his senses.

Schlatt hands Tubbo to Charlie and walks up to Techno, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking in disgust at his blood-spattered clothes. He wonders how many times blood has gotten on those clothes.

“Jeez, kid. I’m all for cruel and unusual punishment, but this is just—”

Technoblade throws up onto the pile of blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....you good there Techno?  
> anyways charlie slimecicle
> 
> yes I am aware it is 1 am on a school night this bitch is getting 7 hours of sleep tonight babey !!!!


	3. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Techno's rampage, including some bonding.

Wilbur stares at Technoblade in shock. He knows he shouldn’t be—he’s seen the aftermath of these fits before—but he’s never seen so much bloodlust in one person’s eyes, let alone his brother’s. He knows just staring at him won’t do anything, it’ll only make it worse, but all he can do is watch as his brother wretches the contents of last night’s dinner onto the pile of blood he created, and hold back his own vomit.

Charlie’s still covering Tommy’s ears, the small boy turned away but not oblivious to the carnage. “Hey, kid, how about we…” Charlie gestures away from Techno. Wilbur shakes his head and walks over next to Schlatt, who’s standing over his brother.

“Techno?” Wilbur asks nervously. “Do you want to get cleaned up?” He prays to whatever gods that Techno has control over his body now. Techno slowly nods, still staring at his hands and licking blood from his stained lips. He lets Wilbur carefully help him up and leans into his helping arm. “C’mon, Tommy, let’s go.” Tommy grabs Wilbur by the wrist and lets him lead them away, leaving Schlatt and Charlie standing there.

Charlie glances at Schlatt.

“No. Absolutely not.” Schlatt’s face hardens.

“C’mon, man!” Charlie exclaims. “They’re starving, and did you even _see_ the display from that kid?”

“I sure fucking did! That’s why we are _not._ You got me stuck with one kid already, I am _not_ having you force me to get stuck with three more! One of them ripped my fucking hand off, Charlie!” Schlatt shouts. “He’s fucking unstable!”

“We can still hear you, y’know.” Wilbur glares at Schlatt. “And my brother is _not_ unstable, thank you.”

“Yeah!” Tommy shouts in agreement, sticking his tongue out at him, walking further away with Wilbur and Techno.

Schlatt rolls his eyes. He couldn’t care less about some cursed kid and his oblivious brothers. They’d figure it out eventually and then slowly drift away from…

He stares down at Tubbo, who’s gently stirring in his arms. He remembers it like it was yesterday, attacking a family who had managed to piss him off, then firing a curse in the wrong direction. He remembers Tubbo’s cries of pain as small horns sprouted from his head and a tiny goat tail grew from his back. Schlatt didn’t mean to curse a kid. He just wanted to show that _annoying_ salesman who was boss. He didn’t know what to do, so he took the kid to everyone else in hopes to help him. It obviously didn’t work, and his punishment was that he had to take care of the kid—suggested by Charlie, that motherfucker.

But he’s actually grown quite the liking to the kid, although he’ll never admit it. He tries not to swear around him as much, which has proved to be… unsuccessful, to say the least. But Tubbo’s happy smiles and gentle actions have wormed their way into Schlatt’s heart when nothing else could.

“Fine. But we’re just following them. That’s it,” Schlatt says begrudgingly, glaring at Charlie, who’s smiling widely.

He runs off to follow the brothers, who are trying to carry their now passed-out brother, who’s limp, dragging legs and weight being fully pushed onto Wilbur not helping in the slightest. But Wilbur would never ask Tommy to help him carry Techno. Maybe on any other day, but not while his brother is blood-stained, the red seeping from his clothes onto Wilbur’s. The smell is horrible, to say the least.

Charlie runs up to them, his breaths slightly heavier from running. “Do you… need some help?” he asks.

Wilbur only glares at him, while Tommy mutters a yes, not wanting to see Techno in this state for any longer. Wilbur reluctantly agrees and slowly shifts Techno’s weight into Charlie’s arms, who picks him up like a sack of potatoes.

“Okay, where we off to, boys?” Charlie asks.

Wilbur points in the direction of their campsite and starts to walk with Charlie and Tommy in tow. Schlatt follows them from a distance. Wilbur stops in front of their fort and motions for Charlie to place Techno on the makeshift bed.

“Wow, this place is…” Charlie looks around, trying to think of a nice word.

“Dingy?” Wilbur finishes his sentence for him. Charlie flinches.

“I was gonna say quaint, but yeah, kinda.” He sighs. “So how’d you guys get like this?”

“We’re orphans.” Wilbur says bluntly. “Phil—our dad died a few months ago.”

“And you had no one else?” Charlie presses.

“We’re adopted. Techno and I are the only ones actually related.” Wlibur grabs a rag from inside the fort. “We’re identical twins. At least…” He looks down sadly. “We used to be.”

Charlie studies Wilbur and Techno. They couldn’t be any farther from identical twins, with Wilbur’s dark brown, curly hair and dark brown eyes contrasting Techno’s straight pink hair and golden yellow ones. As he looks closer, though, he can see small features that hint at their faces once looking similar.

“Dad told me I looked like a younger version of himself,” Tommy says proudly. “He said I could pass for his real son.”

“If you were his actual child, you’d be a god—” Wilbur stops, his limbs becoming rigid and his face stoic, yet panicked. Tommy stares at him, eyes wide.

“What?” Charlie didn’t know if he misheard the boy or not.

“Nothing,” Wilbur said plainly. “It was just a mistake.” He shakes his head and dips the rag in a bucket of water, then carries the bucket over to where Techno’s laying.

“Come to think of it, you _did_ mention this Phil character. I mean, I knew a Phil once—”

“Must’ve been a different Phil,” Wilbur says, cutting Charlie off. “Our dad would want nothing to do with you two.”

“Ouch,” Charlie says in mock insult. He understands, though. Schlatt made a pretty shitty first impression and it doesn’t look good for him when he’s with the person who just threatened them ten minutes ago.

Schlatt walks up behind Charlie, Tubbo now awake and in tow. “You mean Philza? That old man finally kicked the bucket?” He barks out a laugh.

Charlie elbows Schlatt in the side painfully, glaring at him. “He was their _dad,_ Schlatt,” he mutters angrily.

Wilbur stares at Schlatt. “How do you know our dad?” he asks defensively.

Schlatt bows mockingly. “Jschlatt, god of riches and power, at your service.” He grins wickedly.

Charlie rolls his eyes. “He’s also the god of goats, but he won’t tell you that.” Schlatt murmurs angrily in protest. Charlie reaches out his hand. “I’m Slimecicle, god of nature.” Wilbur shakes it suspiciously.

“So is it Slimecicle or Charlie?” Wilbur asks.

“Only my friends call me Charlie.” He chuckles. “Just call me Slime.”

“Okay.” Wilbur says, bending down to wash the blood off of Techno, his face slightly turned in disgust.

There’s an awkward silence between all of them. Tubbo grabs at Schlatt’s suit nervously and he pats the boy on the head reassuringly.

“Well, I’m Tommy!” Tommy exclaims, breaking the silence. “This is Wilbur and Techno!” He smiles, gesturing to his brothers. He walks up to Tubbo. “But I don’t know who _you_ are,” he says, pointing at his chest.

“M-Me?” Tubbo asks, flustered. “Um, I’m Tubbo,” he says nervously.

“Okay Tubbo, wanna see something cool?” Tommy asks. Tubbo nods slowly. Tommy looks at Wilbur for confirmation and his older brother nods in acknowledgment. “Just don’t go too far,” he warns. Tommy whoops in excitement and grabs Tubbo by the wrist, leading the confused boy out of the clearing.

“Where is he taking him?” Schlatt asks, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

Wilbur shrugs. “I don’t know what goes on with him. They should be fine, though. Tommy’s smarter than he looks.” He smiles warmly to himself before returning to cleaning up Techno.

“Do you need some help with that?” Schlatt crouches down next to Wilbur. “You look like you’re having some trouble.”

“I can handle myself, thank you,” Wilbur snaps. This day has been a disaster, and he’s more on edge than he’s ever been in a long time. Sometimes he’d have bad days for no distinct reason, and Phil would comfort him whenever he was particularly on edge, making his favorite meals and listening to whatever Wilbur had to say. He was a good outlet to rant to, always listening and always seeming to have the right words to say. Wilbur always thought that was just a god thing, but looking at the two standing before him, he can firmly say it’s just a Phil thing. That it will only ever be a Phil thing.

Schlatt snatches the wet, blood-stained rag from Wilbur’s hands. “I have magic, kid. I’ll get this done in a second.”

“ _Don’t touch him with your magic!_ ” Wilbur yells, grabbing at his stolen rag.

Schlatt raises an eyebrow incredulously. “Why? It’ll be faster.”

Wilbur dips the rag back into the bucket, the blood seeping into the clear water. “Just don’t.”

Slime walks over to Wilbur. “Hey, Wilbur. Nothing bad’s gonna happen to him. He’s just gonna clean Techno up.”

The beginnings of tears form in Wilbur’s eyes, but he quickly brushes them aside. “What if something goes wrong, though?” He remembers Techno’s cries of pain as his body was mutated into someone he didn’t recognize. He remembers not being able to look him in the eye for a month. He remembers his brother’s anguished sobs in the middle of the night, when he thought no one was listening.

“We’re _gods,_ kid. Nothing bad’s gonna happen unless we want it to,” Schlatt tries to reassure Wilbur, but is met with yet another elbow to the side from Charlie. “Not helping,” he whispers through gritted teeth. Schlatt sighs.

“Look, I know I made a pretty shit first impression on you, but I’m just scary by nature.” He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “I just want to clean up your brother, and then I’ll get ‘outta your hair for the time being, ‘kay?”

Wilbur nods hesitantly, and steps out of the way for Schlatt. Schlatt rubs his hands together, the air around his palms seeming to ripple and bend, distorting the images seen through it. The blood seeps out of Techno’s clothes and floats into the air, the blood on his skin doing the same, floating up into one big droplet. With a flick of his hand, Schlatt throws the blood into the bucket of cloudy water. The dark blood spreads like roots through the water, coloring it a deep red.

“Just letting you know, he’s gonna wake up real soon,” Schlatt warns. 

Wilbur hums in acknowledgement. “Thanks, Schlatt,” he mutters reluctantly.

“No problem, kid.” Schlatt can’t help but let a small smile escape his lips, and Charlie glances at him with a smirk. Schlatt flips him off while Wilbur isn’t looking.

\--------

Meanwhile, Tommy is leading Tubbo through the forest, jumping over roots and ducking underneath low-hanging branches. Tubbo’s having much more trouble than Tommy is, tripping and getting his hair tangled in leaves more than once.

“Tommy?” Tubbo asks, breathing heavily from the walk. Tommy stops and turns around to look at him. “Where on Earth are we even going?”

“We’re almost there.” Tommy grins excitedly. He pulls Tubbo along a narrow path before he comes to a clearing, where an abandoned house rests, seemingly untouched for decades. Tommy runs up to the porch and runs his hand over the old wood. It’s very dark and flimsy, small scratches in the material showing the yellowy inside of what was once a lovely oak fence. Tommy gestures for Tubbo to come inside, but the boy is hesitant and nervous-looking.

“Are you sure we have to go in? I can just wait outside.” Tubbo glances around skittishly.

“C’mon, it’s fine!” Tommy laughs, grabbing Tubbo by the wrist and leading him inside the old building. “I’ve been here a million times before. I’ll protect you.” He grins, and Tubbo nods slowly, only barely reassured by the boy’s words. “Great!” Tommy exclaims, leading Tubbo up a set of rickety stairs. The two carefully navigate their way around broken glass and scattered, rusty nails as they make their way into a room at the end of the hallway.

“Here!” Tommy bounces on his heels in excitement and opens the door. There’s a dusty blanket and a few old board games laying on the ground. “I’ve always wanted to play some of these, but if I showed by brother’s they’d yell at me for being ‘irresponsible’.” He rolls his eyes. “You wanna know something cool? I learned to read at five. My dad says that’s really young.” His eyes sparkles with pride. “I’ve been keeping up by reading the instructions to the games, so I know them inside and out.” Tommy sits down on the blanket and pats on the ground in front of him. “C’mon, I’ll teach you!”

Tubbo sits down where Tommy gestured him to, looking at the different games scattered on the ground. He only recognizes one. “My dad taught me how to play chess,” he says, pointing at the checkerboard with a sack next to it. “But I’m not very good.” He laughs nervously.

“That’s the only one that _didn’t_ come with instructions,” Tommy groaned. “I’ve been using the little figurines to do pretend battles with.”

“That’s kind of the point, I guess.” Tubbo scratches the back of his neck. “Do you want me to teach you?”

“Could you?” Tommy’s eyes light up in excitement.

“Yeah!” Tubbo exclaims.

“We can become chess masters together, Tubbo!” Tommy laughs. “You just gotta teach me first, and then we’ll become pros.”

Tubbo smiles warmly. No other children around his age have been just as excitable as Tommy is. Tubbo never found himself getting along with anyone else, though, so he supposes he wouldn’t know. But Tommy seemed to force Tubbo out of his shell, carrying their conversation when Tubbo was too afraid to speak, unbothered. He enjoyed the odd company.

Halfway into explaining the basics of chess, Tommy fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hgrhhhhhh bonding go brrrrrrrrrrr


	4. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> me and the boys looking for two children in an abandoned building

Technoblade feels a heavy force push down on his entire body, slowly coaxing him into waking. As quickly as the force came though, it slowly lifted, and he felt lighter than how he felt before. His senses come back to him bit by bit, the voice of two people fading into existence. He peeks an eye open to be greeted with his and his brother’s all-too familiar shelter. He groans quietly as the voices start to become discernible. He sits up and looks around. Schlatt and Slime are talking to one another quietly while Wilbur is snoring next to him.

Schlatt turns his head and sees Techno staring at him. He raises a hand in greeting. “Morning, kid.”

Techno glares at him silently.

Schlatt chuckles. “Honestly, I should be the one mad at you. You ripped my goddamn hand off,” he says, rubbing his wrist.

“You tried to kidnap my brothers,” Techno retorts.

“You  _ did  _ try to do that.” Slime snickers beside Schlatt.

“I did  _ not! _ ” Schlatt yells, flustered.

“Happens to the best of us, buddy.” Slime shrugs. “No shame here. Well, maybe just a little, they  _ are  _ children, afterall.” He grins.

“You two are taking child kidnapping very lightly.” Techno raises an eyebrow.

“I’m not ‘boutta get scolded by a child on what I should and shouldn’t take lightly,” Schlatt grumbles.

“You could learn a thing or two from him, Schlatt!” Charlie winks playfully, nudging his friend in the side. Schlatt rolls his eyes.

Techno looks around. He feels like something’s missing, but he can’t put his finger on it. He peeks over Wilburs shoulder. Oh.

“Where’s Tommy?” he asks.

“He went out into the forest with Tubbo,” Slime replies.

“And that is…?” Techno asks.

“He’s Schlatt’s son,” Slime explains.

“He’s not my  _ son,  _ he’s just the kid you forced me to take care of,” Schlatt denies defensively.

“Why do you smile every time you talk about him then, huh?” Slime raises his eyebrows. “You literally held him in your arms when he was scared, dude. You can’t hide it.” He grins.

“On the contrary, I do fucking not.” Schlatt crosses his arms, glaring at Slime. “And what else was I supposed to do? Just let him watch that kid rip a bird to shreds?” He gestures as Techno, who’s still sitting uncomfortably in the fort. “No offense,” he adds. Techno doesn’t respond.

“I’m gonna go find Tommy.” Techno stands up and sneaks around the two gods uncomfortably. “And your son, I guess.”

“He’s not—” Schlatt sighs. “Whatever. You’re not gonna find them for a while, if you just randomly search, though. They’re pretty far away.” A coin appears in his hand from out of nowhere and he starts rolling it across his knuckles.

“How do you know that?” Techno asks.

“Magic.” Schlatt unenthusiastically waves his hands.

“Great.” Techno rolls his eyes. He really, really does not like this Schlatt guy, nor his companion. Maybe he should be nicer to them—that’d make it easier for all parties involved—but he just can’t. They remind Techno so much of Phil, somehow, but they couldn’t be further from his father. He doesn’t know why he remembers Phil’s nightly flights and warm hugs whenever he looks in their direction, and he doesn’t want to.

“How about I come with you?” Slime asks. “I’ll help you find him, and Schlatt can bond with Wilbur.”

“I can’t do anything to stop you, can I?” Techno asks.

“Smart kid.” Slime laughs. “C’mon, let’s get going now.” Slime walks into the forest and Techno follows behind reluctantly.

The forest surrounding the village is dense, and Techno’s not used to traversing the crowded growth. He trips over more roots in the first minute than he’d like to mention. Slime, on the other hand, almost seems to float through the undergrowth, ducking under branches and hopping over fallen logs with grace.

“So why’d you want to talk to me?” Techno asks, narrowly avoiding getting smacked in the face with a low-hanging branch.

“Can’t a guy just help a kid out?” Slime responds.

“I will rip your hand off,” Techno growls.

“Woah, woah, woah, kid!” Slime holds out his hands defensively. “No need to get violent! Besides, I don’t think you even have enough energy to pull off a stunt like that again.” He laughs.

Slime’s right, but Techno doesn’t want to admit it. Sure, he’s physically capable of doing it a million times over, but mentally he would have rather done it no times.

Slime stops beside a flower patch. “Hey, you wanna see something cool?” he asks with a glimmer in his eye.

“If it’ll get us to keep moving, yes.” Techno’s face is stoic.

“You’re no fun, but I’m taking that as a ‘I would love to see it, Slimecicle, also you’re super cool’.” Slime snickers and bends down, his hands lightly grazing the flowers. 

He takes a deep breath before placing his hand on the ground gently, intertwining his fingers with the grass. A light erupts from his palms and scatters, the shining particles resembling fireflies. Techno watches in awe as the flowers start to grow, their petals spreading out and becoming more colorful than he thought possible. The stems of the flowers intertwine and eventually twist into a the shape of a crown. Slime carefully plucks the flower crown from the stems and stands up, sighing in contentment at his handiwork. He places the flower crown on Techno’s head and beams. “How’s that for cool?”

Techno delicately takes the flower crown off his head and stares at it. He feels tears form in his eyes as he remembers Slime’s gentle expression, so similar to the one he used to see with Phil. He would go outside and stare at the stars in wonder, often flying with his children onto the roof for a better look, then telling them stories of his many adventures until they fell asleep.

“Hey, are you okay?” Slime bends down to look at Techno’s face and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Is it that bad?” he asks worriedly.

“No it’s…” Techno chokes back a sob. “It’s great.” He puts the wreath back on his head gratefully.

“I think that’s the first nice thing you’ve said to me.” Slime grins. “I’m glad you like it, though.” He stands back up, and Techno’s shoulder feels colder from the lack of touch. “C’mon, we gotta go get your brother.” He tilts his head to the right.

Techno nods and follows Slime. “By the way, how’d you do that?” he asks.

“Magic.” Slime chuckles. “But also because y’know, god of nature and all that.” He pauses, and Techno stops in his tracks. “Oh, shit, forgot I said that while you were gonked out. Yeah, Schlatt’s a god, too. My bad.”

“Oh.”

\--------

“Tommy!” Tubbo gently shakes his friend. “Wake up!”

Tommy’s mid-snore when he’s thrown back into reality. “A-Ah!” he yells. “What?”

“Did you hear any of that?” Tubbo whines.

Tommy pauses to think. “You were talking about the… horses, right? They move like an L.”

“Yeah!” Tubbo claps his hands happily. “But I’ve moved onto the rook, now.”

“Sorry.” Tommy laughs nervously.

“No problem! You’ll just have to figure the bishop out on your own.” Tubbo giggles.

“Nooooooo,” Tommy grumbles. “Please tell me again. I promise I’ll listen this time. I double triple promise.”

“Do you double triple  _ quadruple  _ promise?” Tubbo asks, laughing.

“I double triple quadruple promise,” Tommy affirms.

“Okay.” Tubbo giggles, crawling back to the other side of the board. “Why do you want to learn chess so bad, anyway?” He tilts his head.

“Dad taught Wilbur and Techno how to play chess.” Tommy curls his knees into his chest. “Techno gave up basically right away.” He laughs sadly. “He was like, ‘Dad’s too smart for me. I can’t keep up’ and just quit. Wilbur actually beat him once, though. Dad was so proud of him that he made his favorite meal that night.”

“Where is your dad?” Tubbo asks innocently.

Tommy hugs his knees closer to his chest. “I don’t know,” he whispers.

“Oh.” Tubbo pauses. “I’m sorry. I mean, at least you have your brothers, right?” he makes a feeble attempt at reassuring his friend.

“I guess.” Tommy sighs. “They just… haven’t been the same since we lost Dad. It always feels like they’re hiding something from me. They look a lot sadder now, too, not to mention Techno’s curse…” Tommy buries his head in his knees, holding back tears. “I just wish things could go back to normal again. They never will, though, will they?”

“I uhm…” Tubbo starts to panic. “I’m sorry. If it’s any consolation, my parents are gone, too.”

“What does that mean?” Tommy tilts his head.

“Consolation? It means comfort,” Tubbo explains.

“Then it’s not!” Tommy exclaims, moving towards Tubbo and lightly hitting him. After a moment of unrest he calms down and sits next to his new friend in silence.

“I’m sorry, I’m not very good at this.” Tubbo laughs nervously.

“You’re not, but that’s okay,” Tommy says, a slight, somber smile tugging at his lips. “I like you as my friend, Tubbo. It’s too bad we might never see each other again.” He sighs sadly.

“What? Why?” Tubbo blurts out.

“That’s what happens when we get caught,” Tommy says. “We have to leave the area so we don’t get sent to an orphanage or jail, or something. I wish we didn’t have to go. I was really starting to like it here. The forest is pretty, and this house is nice.”

“I mean, you don’t  _ have  _ to go, right?” Tubbo argues. He isn’t going to lose the only friend he’s ever made after only a day. “You can just stay here, even if you did get caught!”

“I don’t have a choice, Tubbo,” Tommy says, fresh tears welling in his eyes. “I can’t just leave Wilbur and Techno. Besides, I wouldn’t be able to live on my own, anyway.”

“How’re we gonna become chess masters if you don’t stay here?” Tubbo asks sadly.

“Maybe I’ll come back when I’m older, then we can beat everyone at chess.” Tommy lets out a single small laugh.

They sit in half-comfortable silence, both having something to say but too upset to say it. Tommy wants to say goodbye, but he doesn’t want it to be. Him and his brothers grew up relatively isolated from society, the closest thing to friends he had was occasionally playing with the nearby village kids when his father would take him to the market, but whenever he went he forced his children to wear hoods to hide their faces. He said he did those to keep his family safe. Tommy didn’t understand the seemingly unnecessary precautions at the time, but he does now.

Tubbo’s eyes light up. “What if you live with us?” he proposes.

“Live with you?” Tommy tilts his head, confused.

“Yeah! My dad and I live near the village!” Tubbo says. “It’s sort of small for five people, but my dad can do magic, so I’m sure he can make it bigger, somehow.” He laughs excitedly.

“I don’t think my brothers like your dad very much.” Tommy laughs.

“Yeah, he can be pretty scary sometimes,” Tubbo admits. “He never gets mad at me, though,” he adds. “But he’s super nice! He can even teach you chess, he’s much better than I am at explaining. He’s not a great cook, but he bakes really well! Slime usually comes over and helps us, and he’s actually taught me how to cook some things. He’s basically part of the family, he comes over so often!” He laughs. Tommy lets Tubbo ramble on about his life for a while, enjoying the descriptions of the calm life he lives. That life seems more and more appealing as the boy continues to talk.

“Tommy? Tubbo?” He hears Slime call. “You in here?”

“Slime?” Tubbo yells.

“Tubbo! Is Tommy with you?” Slime asks.

“I’m here!” Tommy shouts. “We’re upstairs!”

“How’d you even find this place?” Tommy hears Techno ask. “This is dangerous! The floor could give out any minute!”

“I’m fine! We’ll come downstairs!” Tommy grabs Tubbo’s hand and leads him down the rickety stairs, where Techno and Slime are standing at the bottom.

“Where’d you get the flower crown?” Tommy asks, pointing at the wreath of flowers on top of Techno’s head.

“Oh, uhm…” Techno looks away, embarrassed. He doesn’t want his brother to know of his emotional outbreak he had only five minutes earlier. “Slime made it with magic,” he says.

Tubbo gasps with excitement. “I want one!” he exclaims, his eyes lighting up.

“Me too!” Tommy laughs.

“Two flower crowns, coming right up.” Slime smiles, leading the boys into the forest. He scans the ground for a moment before settling on a patch of differently colored alstroemerias. He puts his hand on the ground, the same magic sprouting and dissolving, twisting the flowers into crowns small enough to fit Tommy and Tubbo’s heads. He hands Tommy a circlet of yellow flowers, and hands Tubbo a white one.

“Pretty,” Tubbo whispers, staring at it in awe. “I didn’t know you could do this!”

“That’s nothing, kid.” Slime chuckles. “We’ll save that for another day, though.”

“So can you make giant plant spikes come out of the ground?” Tommy asks eagerly. “Or maybe—”

Slime holds a hand out, shushing Tommy. “I’m gonna have to stop you there. I can’t actually create anything, sorry.”

“Why not?” Tommy tilts his head to the side.

“Well, gods are just personifications of objects, ideas, or emotions. I can only tamper with what’s already been made, so I can’t create stuff,” Slime explains.

“Boring,” Tommy groans.

“I think it’s interesting!” Tubbo assures Slime.

“That sounds great, but we should head out,” Techno says, starting to walk away. “We need to get ready to leave tonight.”

Tommy visibly deflates. His brother seems so calm about all this, so sure about what he’s doing. It makes him less and less sure that what he wants to do is right. Right for him or right for his family. He looks over at Tubbo, who gives him a small nod of encouragement, although he’s filled with uncertainty as well.

“About that, Techno…” Tommy mumbles.

“Hm?” Techno asks, turning towards Tommy.

“We were wondering if…” he pauses. He realizes he’s shaking. “We were wondering if we could live with Tubbo and his dad?”

“What?” Techno stops.

“I mean, Tubbo said it’d be fine…” Tommy trails off.

“Yeah! I’m sure my dad will be okay with it!” Tubbo says. “We actually live separate from the village, I think on the opposite side from where your campsite is.”

Techno stares at his brother’s nervous face silently. He notices his trembling legs as he fidgets with his fingers timidly. His brain screams at him to say no, to end the conversation right there and avoid any further conflict. But the voices, they all shout in agreement. The voices always know more than they should, for better or for worse, but they always lie, too. Techno knows this. He sighs.

“We’ll decide on it as a family,” he finally says. Tommy’s eyes light up.

“So it’s not a no?” he asks excitedly.

“We’ll see.” Techno ruffles Tommy’s hair. “C’mon, we’ll go ask Will.” Tommy whoops in excitement and hugs a surprised Tubbo, who yelps as Tommy catches him off guard. “You coming or not?” Techno asks.

“Coming!” Tommy and Tubbo smile. Maybe they have a chance, afterall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took a bit longer to get out lmao  
> I quite like the scene with Slime and Techno, but they're always somehow the first to bond in my fics even if they've barely interacted irl  
> I chose the specific flower for Tommy and Tubbo for a reason, but you're gonna have to figure it out yourself
> 
> (as always criticism is appreciated)


	5. Home (but not quite yet)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An argument and an agreement.

“Absolutely not.”

“Wilbur, please!” Tommy whines. Techno stands behind him, with Slime and Tubbo a bit further off, talking to Schlatt. “I really, really don’t wanna leave!”

“We are not going with _them_.” Wilbur scowls, pointing a finger at the two gods. “Don’t you realize they could’ve been the ones who killed Phil?”

“What?” Tommy stops. “What do you mean?”

“Do you really think anyone but a god would’ve been able to kill another god?” Wilbur bristles, both at his brothers’ ignorance and his anger at Schlatt and Slime. He can’t bring himself to be mad at Tubbo, though. He doesn’t know why. “Techno, surely you’ve thought this through!”

Techno nods slowly. He’s probably thought it through a million times over, but he can’t disagree with the voices. They lie quite often, but they never do anything that would put him in immediate danger. Well except, y’know… “I have,” he finally says.

“I thought you’d be the last person to agree to this,” Wilbur huffs.

“Me, too,” he mumbles. “I still don’t trust them. I really don’t.” He looks into Wilbur’s eyes. The piercing yellow never fails to startle his brother. “But I have a feeling.” He knows he can’t tell Wilbur or Tommy that the only reason he was persuaded so easily was the voices. He knows that’d make both of his brothers believe him less. He knows they’ve seen the carnage, and he wishes they hadn’t.

“You three done with your little business meeting?” Schlatt walks up to the brothers, his hands nonchalantly behind his head. Wilbur and Techno glare at him. Tommy merely stares, startled. “I’ll take that as a _no_ , then.” He pulls a small golden coin out of nowhere and starts to roll it across his knuckles. “Tubbo told me about your plan. I’m honestly against it, but I can’t say no to that kid, can I?” He rolls his eyes, but peeks a fond glance at Tubbo, who’s talking excitedly to Slime. “Can’t just kidnap ya, though, you’ll have to make the decision yourselves.” He shrugs.

“We’ll make the decision once you leave,” Techno snaps.

“You’re the man.” Schlatt snaps his fingers into finger guns and walks off.

“That guy sucks.” Wilbur bristles.

Techno nods in agreement with a groan.

“I mean, Tubbo said he wasn’t that bad,” Tommy adds, nervous at his brothers’ anger. “He said he even taught him chess!”

“We don’t need to learn _chess,_ Tommy, we need to survive,” Wilbur snarls. Tommy looks sadly at his older brother. He used to beg their father to play him, even if he only won a few times out of the hundreds they must’ve played. He always enjoyed learning and growing from his losses, though. That’s been put to use now, though, Tommy supposes. “S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap,” Wilbur adds softly, running his fingers through Tommy’s ruffled blonde hair. “I’m just stressed right now.”

“I think we all are.” Techno sighs. “I _really_ don’t want to go… but…” Techno stops. He doesn’t think this will help his case but his brothers deserve to know. “The voices. They really want us to, for some reason.”

“The _voices?_ ” Wilbur shouts. “Are you serious, Techno?”

Techno braces himself against his twin’s harsh words. “Please, hear me out,” he begs. Wilbur nods hesitantly. “They always seem to just… know too much. They lie a lot, and they get carried away sometimes—” Wilbur scoffs. Sometimes. He hasn’t failed to notice the copious occasions when Tommy and him come back and Techno is sitting next to the fire, pale as a ghost and shivering despite the warmth. “—but they’d never do something to get us hurt.”

“How do you know that? Did you even _see_ yourself back there?” Wilbur exclaims. “You looked like you were about to murder someone! And you almost did! What would’ve happened if you hurt one of us—”

“Stop!” Techno shouts. “Please.” He falls to his knees. “Please.” He tightly covers his mouth to hold back loud gasps, his lungs screaming for more air.

“Techno!” Tommy falls down beside his oldest brother, gently squeezing him in an embrace.

“Techno, I—” Wilbur stares at his brother, unable to think of an excuse. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.” He stares at the ground in shame. He knows how much Techno suffers every day. But for some reason his brother just can’t see that the voices aren’t there to help him. If he could just make him see—

Techno tightly wraps his arms around his twin. “S’okay,” he assures him. “You made a…” He coughs awkwardly, trying his best to ignore his outburst. “...fair argument. But they helped me find you two. I don’t know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t. I don’t want to think about it.”

“All the more reason we shouldn’t go with him,” Wilbur said, trying to make his tone less angry. He just needs to think rationally today.

“Please, Wilbur?” Tommy looks up at his brother with wide eyes. “Even Techno agrees, and he never does stuff without taking hours to think about it first!” He gestures towards a slightly offended Techno. “I’ll even admit you’re my favorite brother!”

“You little—”

“Have you made your decision?” Slime walks up to the brothers.

Wilbur stays silent. He looks at Tommy, who’s stare is both sad and intense at the same time, then looks at Techno, who looks calm as always.

He sighs. “Fine. Go pack your stuff.”

Tommy’s eyes light up and he rushes over to Tubbo, shaking his shoulders and yelling excitedly. Techno and Wilbur look at each other warmly, speaking a thousand words without even opening their mouth. They say twins have that sort of connection, a second, unspoken language, if you will; Techno and Wilbur display it perfectly. They nod and make their way to the camp.

\--------

“How long is this walk?” Wilbur whines.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got _plant-y_ of time,” Slime says, followed by a fit of laughter from Tommy and Tubbo.

Schlatt rolls his eyes. Both at the bad joke and this child’s attitude. “It’s been ten minutes, kid. I _offered_ to take your bags,”

“There’s important shit in here,” he rebuts. “We can’t afford for you to take them.”

“Would you say they’re _tree-mendous?_ ” Tommy and Tubbo burst into giggles once again. Techno and Wilbur cover their mouths to hide their chuckle.

Schlatt groans. “Don’t encourage him.”

“Hey! Don’t take my puns for _planted._ They’re all already _rooting_ for me, I can’t stop!”

“That wasn't even funny!” Schlatt shouts, putting his face into his hands. “That wasn’t even funny.” He slams his fist against a nearby tree, causing Techno to suddenly jolt at the startling sound. Tommy snickers beside him.

“Are you scared, Techno?” he asks mockingly.

Techno huffs. “I’m just on high alert.”

Wilbur nudges him in the side, grinning. “It’s okay to say you’re scared.”

“That’s great, because I’m not.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Tommy slams his heel down on a large branch, too weak to break it fully but strong enough for it to crack loudly, startling Techno with a yelp. His younger brothers burst out laughing at him. He only gives them a long sigh in response, the beginnings of a smile tugging at his lips.

“In my defense, I’m used to being quiet while walking around,” Techno says. “We probably still should be, though.”

“Don’t worry!” Slime exclaims, pointing a thumb to his chest. “You’ve got us to help ya now!”

“I thought larger groups were louder?” Tommy asks, tilting his head slightly.

“I mean, yeah.” Slime chuckles. “But we can protect you, now. What’s some more noise compared to better protection?”

“We wouldn’t need protection if we were quieter,” Wilbur rebuts.

“Potato, potahto.” Slime waves his hand in the air dismissively. “There’s pros and cons to everything. ‘S’how life works. I’d prefer to look at the positive, though.”

“Kids, that’s what we call naїvety,” Schlatt remarks.

“And _that’s_ what we call being a wet blanket.” Slime points his thumb towards Schlatt, grinning. The god makes sounds of protest in return. He chuckles and starts to make his way to an area with a particularly heavy amount of thorny vines.

“Why can’t we just go around?” Tommy asks.

“Because we’re almost there.” Slime gestures towards the vines, holding them open for the kids to walk through one by one. He winces when the thorns poke through his outfit and nick his skin, but doesn’t move until everyone is through.

The brothers stare in wonder as they come through into a clearing filled with lush greenery, flowers, and a small pond. There’s a stone path leading up to a cozy home in the middle of the open space.

“Cool, right?” Tubbo nudges Tommy in the side. “Mr. Slime did all this!”

Schlatt scoffs. “Show off.” Slime elbows him in the gut.

Tubbo grabs Tommy by the wrist. “C’mon! Let’s go inside!” He laughs, leading the youngest of the brothers down the stone path, opening the door and dragging him inside.

“You just leave the door unlocked?” Wilbur asks suspiciously.

“Slime made the vines enchanted. You won’t know where we are unless you have specific directions. Even then, you’d need his permission to enter.” Schlatt shrugs. “I think it’s unnecessary, but I’m not the god of safety, now am I?” He starts to make his way to the house before he can say anything else.

“Interesting,” Techno mumbles.

“I know, right?” Slime rests his shoulder on the pink haired boy’s head and grins. “Now c’mon, let’s head inside.” He ruffles Techno’s hair and follows Schlatt.

The twins look at each other, both of them trying to read the others’ face before nodding and following the two gods. They both quietly talk to each other as they walk down the stone path. Once they step into the house, they’re greeted by a living room, a couch with a few soft-looking chairs beside it overlooking a lit fireplace. There’s a kitchen behind the living room, pots and pans are scattered across the stove and a few plates are sitting in the sink.

“You can just put your shit next to the couch.” Schlatt gestures to the couch, where Tommy’s bag is already sitting on the floor, his cloak on top. “It might be a while ‘till ya get actual rooms, so you can crash on the couch if you want.” Techno and Wilbur put their bags next to Tommy’s, putting their cloaks over their respective bags.

“They can have my room,” Slime hurriedly announces. “I’ll take the couch.”

Schlatt raises an eyebrow. “Okay. Show ‘em to your room, then.” Slime nods and gestures for the twins to follow him, and he leads them up the stairs into a room full of plants of different sizes, a large window overlooking a big bed resting in the center.

“You’re really beating this whole ‘nature god’ thing to the ground, huh?” Wilbur asks with a slight chuckle.

“Don’t make fun of me, we all have our interests,” Slime says.

“That’s like my interests being pigs.” Techno rolls his eyes, and an uncomfortable silence falls over the group. “What? You can’t say I don’t look like one.”

“I mean…” Wilbur scratches the back of his neck nervously. “I guess.”

“You don’t have to be humble about it. I do.” Techno chuckles.

“Well, you three can stay here,” Slime says, changing the subject. “I’m guessing Tommy might want to stay in Tubbo’s room, though.”

“Probably not.” Wilbur shrugs, Techno humming in agreement. “He’s too comfortable staying with us.”

“That’s a bold claim.” Slime raises an eyebrow.

“Well, our brother has pretty obvious mannerisms,” Wilbur says, sitting down on the bed with Techno in tow. “Plus, we’ve lived with him for 6 years.”

“Can’t disagree with that logic,” Slime agrees. “You two are pretty smart for your age.”

“Phil homeschooled us,” Wilbur explains. “He taught us more than what’s in the normal curriculum.”

“Of course he did,” Slime adds with a small laugh. “He always went above and beyond. Glad to know he was a good father, though, he was honestly quite chaotic while he was with us.”

“You knew our dad?” Techno inquires.

“Yup. I wouldn’t say best friends, but close friends,” Slime says. “We’d get into trouble a lot when we were younger. Hope that didn’t rub off on you.” Slime remembers the times when Phil, Schlatt, Grizzly, and him would steal things from the higher-ups, or pull pranks on everyone. He barely remembers it, it was so long ago.

“Definitely rubbed off on Tommy,” Techno mumbles to Wilbur. His brother laughs in agreement.

“Don’t pretend like it isn’t you, too.” Wilbur gently elbows Techno in the side playfully. “Remember the time you chased the village kids around with dad’s sword?”

“Aren’t you the one who climbed onto the roof and started yelling because you got stuck?” Techno says with a smirk.

“I’m happy to see he at least got stuck with some banging kids.” Slime laughs, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “He deserved it, man.”

The twins and Slime sit in comfortable silence, remembering Phil in their own way. Sometimes Techno and Wilbur believe they could’ve been better children, that if they knew they’d lose their father that quickly that they would’ve been a bit kinder, a bit easier to deal with. It’ll often times keep them up, thinking of ways they could’ve been more worthy of their father’s love before he was gone.

“Thank you, Slime.” Wilbur looks up at the god, breaking the silence.

“Anytime, kid.” He smiles, gently putting his hand on Wilbur’s brown curls and running his fingers through his hair. Wilbur quietly inhales but doesn’t fight it. It feels nice to have this sort of affection again. Slime removes his hand from Wilbur’s head. “How ‘bout I let you two get settled, then?” he asks. “Schlatt and I will be in the living room if you need us.” The brothers nod as Slime walks out of the room, closing the door behind him.

They sit in silence as they listen to Slime’s footsteps getting further away, then listening to the muffled conversations of the house. They haven’t been in a house this lively in a long time. Hell, they haven’t been in a house at all in a long time. Techno grips the silky bed sheets, watching the fabric intertwine with his fingers. Wilbur places his hand over his brother’s and they look at each other knowingly.

“Feels like Phil,” Techno finally says.

Wilbur nods. “Feels like Phil.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for my absence, I haven't been in a writing mood this past week. I'll usually write chapters all at once but this was written over the course of the week, since I always try to get at least 2,000 words a chapter  
> but other than that more bonding!!!! and hous!!!!
> 
> (as always, criticism is appreciated!)


	6. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You three aren't the only ones who get nightmares."

Technoblade jolts awake, his eyes snapping open. His hair sticks to the back of his neck uncomfortably, and he sits up to push it out of the way, the long locks of pink greasy and unwashed. He grimaces.

He doesn’t remember his nightmare, he rarely ever does. Only bits and pieces jump around in his scattered brain. He takes a moment to collect himself, breathing deeply in and out. It was about Phil again, he remembers. Technoblade’s not surprised, they’re usually about Phil. He gives himself a minute to study his surroundings. The voices normally give him a minute or so after he wakes before flooding in gradually, so he can’t even spare a heartbeat not being focused. He’s not excited at the prospect of yet another headache.

Techno flinches upon realizing he’s in an unfamiliar room, his heart skipping a beat and his breath blocked in his throat. He studies his surroundings, staring at the plants scattered about the room, the smell of greenery making his nostrils twitch irritably. He lets out a sigh. Right, he’s here.

The rest of yesterday wasn’t particularly eventful. He and Wilbur ate dinner in silence, while everyone else talked amongst one another happily, recounting stories and cracking jokes. Techno has never understood how Tommy can make friends so fast. The warm meal was a comfort amidst their cold fruit and stale bread, though, and they all scarfed their meals down like their lives depended on it, Wilbur snickering when Tommy nearly choked on a piece of too-buttered bread.

Even with the fire crackling and people laughing, the air was stale with tension. The younger boys only sensed it when the table would go quiet, the only noise being the clinking of silverware against dishes. The two gods and Techno would stare at each other uncomfortably, even while people were talking. Wilbur would barely even look up from his meal.

Techno shivers remembering the awkward meal. He’s always seemed to react to social situations worse than others, his throat closing up even at the prospect of talking to strangers. He’d always hold onto Phil’s coat for dear life while they were out at the market, and hold his hood as tightly over his head as he could. He’s never been good at making friends.

He lets his feet dangle over the edge of the bed, focusing on his breath so the voices will be slightly more bearable.

_ Nightmare? _

_ Not pog. _

_ Sorry ): _

Techno sighs. He gently hops off the bed, the carpet soft. He doesn’t think it’s the best idea to have a carpeted floor in a place full of plants that need to be watered, but it’s not his room, now is it? He looks over at his brothers, who are curled together underneath the puffy blanket. Technoblade opens the door and slowly slips into the hallway, his bare feet gently slapping against the wooden floor. He doesn’t really know where he’s going, but he eventually makes his way to the living room and sits next to the empty fireplace. He shivers against the cold night air and curls his knees into his chest. He could go back to the warmth of Slime’s room, where he could just go back underneath the covers and sleep next to his brothers, but for some reason he doesn’t want to. He stares at the cold fireplace, but his mind is elsewhere. He doesn’t exactly know where, though. He sighs and looks up at the ceiling, resting his head on the couch.

After however long, he hears small footsteps accompanied by quiet sniffles come down the hallway. A soft “Techno?” comes from Tommy.

“Tommy?” Techno stands up and walks towards the hallway, where he sees Tommy standing there, rubbing tears from his eyes. “What’s wrong?” Tommy less-than-quietly runs into Techno’s arms, on the brink of tears. His older brother doesn’t mind, though. He gently runs his fingers through the younger’s hair, the slight curls tangled from rolling around in his sleep.

“Bad dream.” Tommy digs his fingers into his brother’s back. “You were in it.”

“How ‘bout we talk about it in the living room?” Techno leads his brother to the couch, where they sit down, Tommy leaning against his older brother. “So what happened?”

_ Help him. _

_ Poor Tommy ): _

_ Help! _

“W-We were back at home,” Tommy stammers out. “Dad was there. We were playing in the backyard… and then… and then…” He sniffles. Techno doesn’t need to hear the rest of the story. He knows it all too well. His own nightmares won’t let him forget. “But then you… you…” Tommy buries his face into Techno’s shirt, tears now soaking into the fabric. “A-And then you weren’t there when I woke up, and I got scared,” he chokes out between heavy breaths.

Techno shushes Tommy in what he hopes is a reassuring way. “I’m right here now, okay? I’m not leaving anytime soon.”

Tommy nods into Techno’s shirt, but he’s still crying. Techno doesn’t know what to do. He isn’t equipped for situations like these. He didn’t realize that Tommy was as scarred from their father’s death as he and Wilbur are, but in hindsight he should have expected that Tommy has the emotional capacity to recognize a traumatic situation. Most children do, even without realizing it.

Tommy’s always been such a happy kid, the only times he’d cry is when he’d get hurt or when he lost to his brothers in any kind of competition. It’d always be Phil who would calm everyone down when they were upset, and occasionally Wilbur. It’s never been Techno who had to deal with the emotions, and he was fine with that.

But now, with so many emotions at once, it’s overwhelming. From getting caught to meeting two  _ gods,  _ and then living with the gods, it was a lot to process. Techno was supposed to process it in the morning, not in the dead of night with his crying brother in his arms. At the very least, with his outburst yesterday, the voices are quieter.

Techno hates that in the back of his mind he wishes that they would help.

A door creaks in the hallway. Techno tenses, but Tommy doesn’t notice through his choked sobs. His older brother tries to quiet him down, but it’s no use. He feebly holds his brother in a tight embrace.

“Tubbo?” Schlatt says, with more care in his voice than Techno has ever heard from him. “Are you okay?” He walks into the living room to find a child with long hair helplessly staring at his brother, who’s clutching onto the older’s shoulders for dear life, head buried in his shirt, crying.

Techno looks up at Schlatt weakly, as if pleading for help with his eyes. The god pauses and his muscles tense. Techno looks back down at Tommy, gently shushing him. Schlatt makes his decision and sits down on the couch next to the brothers, hesitantly motioning for Techno to hand Tommy over with a roll of his eyes, averting eye contact. Techno slowly hands his brother over to Schlatt, who lifts the child up with a grunt. Tommy digs his head into the god’s shoulder, and Schlatt runs his fingers through the blonde hair, whispering so softly to the young boy that Techno can’t hear him. It seems to calm his brother down, though, as the shaking breaths slowly turn into soft snores.

“Thanks,” Techno mumbles begrudgingly.

“You tell Charlie about this, I’m kicking you out,” Schlatt responds in a half-threat.

Techno hums in agreement, a slight chuckle escaping his lips.

“I ain’t joking, kid,” Schlatt huffs. “I’ll never hear the end of it.” He looks down at Techno, who’s covering his mouth to hide his slight smirk. Despite the humiliation of a kid having blackmail on him, all Schlatt can notice is how tired he looks. “Let’s get you two back to bed, ‘eh?”

Techno nods, following Schlatt back into the bedroom. He gently places Tommy on the bed then steps back to let Techno tuck him in.

Before he’s about to leave, Techno stops him with a question. “How’d you do that?”

“Hm?” Schlatt tilts his head.

“How’d you calm him down so quickly?” The boy looks at Schlatt suspiciously.

Schlatt rolls his eyes. “I didn’t use magic on him, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Techno raises an eyebrow incredulously. “You three aren’t the only ones who get nightmares.” He glowers as he walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving the boy with his vague message.

Techno sits upright in the bed, processing what just happened. He didn’t realize Schlatt was capable of such compassion. Now that he thinks of it, though, the way he held Tommy was similar to the way he held Tubbo. He doesn’t like the thought, but maybe Schlatt is capable of empathy.

With that thought, Techno shifts closer to his brothers and curls himself into their warmth, slowly drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

\--------

Wilbur’s thoughts slowly flicker to life as he wakes up. He rubs his eyes with an unintelligible mumble. He looks over to his brothers, who are sleeping soundly beside him. He gently pokes Tommy in the side and his younger brother’s eyes fly open, his arm flying to weakly hit Wilbur in retaliation. “Mornin’.” Wilbur chuckles. Tommy groans. The two brothers chat for a bit before they hear footsteps running down the hallway.

The door slams open, waking Techno with a yelp. “Morning boys!” Slime shouts with a grin, Tubbo giggling beside him. Wilbur barks out a laugh at his twin’s sudden awakening, Tommy laughing hysterically beside him.

“Shut up,” Techno grumbles, his hair tangled and his voice groggy.

“Oh, shit. Thought you were awake. Sorry, little dudes!” Slime exclaims.

“Charlie!” Schlatt yells from the kitchen.

“My bad!” Slime yells back.

Tubbo runs and jumps onto the bed in front of Tommy. “Goooood morning!” he shouts. “We made pancakes!”

Tommy’s mouth waters even at the thought of fresh pancakes. He jumps out from under the covers, startling his brothers, and runs past Slime and into the kitchen. Tubbo follows close behind, laughing all the way down the hallway.

“Well they’re lively.” Slime chuckles in surprise.

“Tommy’s always been a morning person.” Wilbur stretches his unused limbs. “Unlike my good-for-nothing twin, over here.” Techno gently punches Wilbur in the side, as he laughs loudly.

“It’s not my fault none of you could stay awake long enough to keep watch!” Techno rebuts. “Be thankful for my service.”

Wilbur mockingly salutes towards his twin. “Thank you for your service, dearest brother.” Techno grumbles indecipherably in response, causing Wilbur to laugh louder.

Slime leans against the doorway. “We better get going, it seems like your brother’s taking all the food for himself.” He stares down the hallway and into the kitchen, where Tommy has already piled up what seems like way too many pancakes for someone of his size to eat, and now he’s topping it off with whipped cream and different fruits.

“Okay.” Techno yawns, hopping off the bed with a grunt. Wilbur follows behind him.

“Single file, kids!” Slime jokes, gesturing towards the hallway with a single arm. As the two boys walk out, one obviously more energetic than the other, Slime stares at the mop of pink hair that’s seemed to puff up tenfold on the oldest’s head. “You uh, gonna do anything about that?” Slime asks hesitantly, gesturing to Techno’s hair.

Techno stops and looks at his hair, then back at Slime. After a moment of contemplation, he just shrugs in response, then goes off to follow Wilbur again.

Slime gives a melancholy smile. Those kids are just… so subtly sad. Blink and you’ll miss it sad. The way they joke about ruining their sleep schedule just so they can survive, the tired look in their eyes, it’s just downright depressing to him. He doesn’t let any of that show as he walks down the hallway, catching up with the twins.

Wilbur and Techno walk into the kitchen with Slime close behind. Wilbur practically drools at the smell of breakfast, and he can even see his brother staring at it with anticipation.

“Well, they’re not eating themselves.” Schlatt gestures to the table, a cup of dark coffee in his mug. It smells faintly of alcohol. “Dig in.”

The two boys nod and grab plates, piling pancakes and toppings then sitting at the table. Schlatt and Techno shoot each other an uncomfortable glance before Techno starts to poke fun at Tommy for almost being done with his pancakes. Wilbur finds it a bit strange, but shrugs it off and joins his twin.

“Tommy, you’re gonna get sick!” Wilbur laughs as his younger brother shoves food down his throat.

“I’m a big man,” Tommy says through a mouthful of pancakes. “I don’t get sick.” He puts his hand over his heart proudly before almost choking on his food. Tubbo worriedly pats him on the back as he swallows the food and coughs loudly.

“And that was…?” Techno raises a single eyebrow, smiling.

“I was choking, dumbass!” Tommy exclaims. “Still ain’t sick!”

“Awww, Tommy,” Wilbur says, his voice sickly sweet. “You don’t need to hide it from us.”

“I wasn’t!” Tommy spews out all the cuss words he knows at his brothers while they laugh at him, which is surprisingly many for an eight year old. Schlatt and Slime glance at each other.

“That’s gonna become a habit if you don’t stop, kid,” Schlatt warns.

“Already is,” Wilbur and Techno say at the same time, but the latter comes out as more of a sigh, while the former comes with a grin.

“Also Tubbo probably doesn’t know like, half of those,” Schlatt says. “Lay off the cursing around him.”

“No, I do,” Tubbo says innocently, his eyes wide.

Schlatt slams his fist on the table in defeat, dropping his forehead onto the wood. “I’ve failed, Charlie.”

Slime pats Schlatt on the back. “We all knew you would, pal.” He laughs, which earns a glare from Schlatt.

Tubbo and Tommy are having an earnest conversation about what cuss words they know while Wilbur and Slime laugh, Techno and Schlatt staring at them at loss.

“He was bound to learn eventually, Techno,” Wilbur says in his sing-song voice again. “Even you have your moments.”

“‘Least I’m not the one who deliberately taught them to him.” Techno glares at Wilbur, who tugs at his collar nervously.

“ _ Whaaaat _ ? Me?” He scratches the back of his neck.

“You really need to stop trying to do things secretly while I’m in earshot.”

“I thought you were sleeping!”

“The Blood God never sleeps.” The Blood God. That wasn’t a name that had been uttered in a while, at least outside of Techno’s head. It was a nickname he gave to himself after he and his siblings learned that Phil was a god. Thinking back, the three boys took it exceptionally well.

“‘The Blood God’ needs it, though.” Wilbur flicks Techno in the forehead, causing his brother to flinch.

“Yeah!” Tommy exclaims, suddenly joining in on the conversation.

“The Blood God doesn’t sleep nor needs it,” Techno huffs, crossing his arms.

“You this morning would disagree,” Slime adds.

“Heh?” Techno exclaims, silencing the table. He looks down at his palms. “I’ve been blinded by my own hubris.” He makes a face of fake shock.

Schlatt barks out a loud laugh as Tommy groans. “Booooring,” he cries out.

“It’s not even that long of a word, Tommy,” Wilbur chuckles.

“I do not care for things I do not understand,” Tommy rebuts, his tone suddenly proper.

“Wilbur, why is he calling himself stupid?” Techno whispers loudly to his twin.

“I don’t know, Techno. Why don’t we ask him?” Wilbur not-whispers back.

“Dick’eads! The lot of you!” Tommy shouts, snatching up his plate and going back for seconds.

“Seriously Tommy, don’t eat too much. Your stomach isn’t used to eating that much food at one time,” Techno advises.

“Then I’ll make it used to it!” Tommy shoves five more pancakes and a giant spoonful of whipped cream onto his plate. 

Techno groans. Wilbur points to his brother’s hair and tilts his head in request. Techno nods in agreement and shifts himself so he’s facing away from him. He didn’t exactly think about the consequences as now he’s directly facing the two gods. He looks down awkwardly, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

“So that’s how you keep your hair out of your face?” Slime asks, resting his elbows on his knees so he’s on-level with Techno.

“Mhm,” Techno says. “‘Outta sight, ‘outta mind.”

“When’s the last time you’ve had a bath, may I ask?” Slime looks at the boy’s long hair, the roots dirty and greasy with the bottom being a bit cleaner, but the split ends are abhorred.

“I dunno. We went swimming like, a week ago.” Wilbur shrugs, splitting his twin’s hair into three sections and starting to braid it back. He looks over at Schlatt, who seems to be begrudgingly talking to Tubbo and Tommy.

“I mean, like, with soap and shampoo,” Slime adds, scared for the answer.

“A few months,” Techno says, looking away sadly for a moment. “We’re not actually too sure how much time has passed.”

“What time was it when you—” Slime tries to find the nicest way to put it. “—left?”

“End of February, I think,” Techno says. Wilbur nods in agreement.

“That’s nearly seven months!” Slime exclaims. “It’s August!”

“Has it been that long?” Wilbur asks. Techno feels his heart drop in his chest. “We’ve been gone a lot longer than we thought.” Wilbur doesn’t give his brother time to respond as he wraps his hair around in a makeshift hair tie. “And done!” Techno hums in thanks, his mind elsewhere.

“Well then sorry to make you take your hair down, but you three should probably clean yourselves up,” Slime says. “Thoroughly. Seven months without cleaning yourselves has got to do some damage to your cleanliness factor.”

“I’ll say,” Techno mumbles.

“Then it’s settled.” Slime claps his hands together. “After breakfast is bathtime.”

“We’re not five.” Wilbur crosses his arms.

“Would you prefer washy time?” Schlatt asks mockingly. “Maybe even splishy splashy time?”

“Just show us how to use the bath.” Wilbur rolls his eyes.

“With pleasure,” Schlatt says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He leads the three brothers into the bathroom, a small room in the middle of the hallway. He shows them how to turn the bath and shower on, then leaves them to their own devices.

After the three brothers are washed up, they’re in fresh, oversized clothes, their hair still damp. The three sit on the bed, talking to each other.

“That was so nice.” Wilbur sighs. “I can’t believe we went this long without warm water.”

“My long hair felt strange. That was the first time I’ve properly washed it.” Techno grabs a strand of pink hair in his hand.

“Is that why you took, like, an hour?” Tommy laughs.

“It was thirty minutes, max,” Techno rebuts, dodging the question. Tommy only laughs louder at his response.

They hear a knock at the door. “Come in!” Wilbur says. Slime walks into the room with Schlatt in tow.

“How’re you three feeling?” Slime asks.

“Amazing!” Tommy grins.

“Great,” Slime says. “‘Cause now we’re gonna cut your hair.” Schlatt holds up a pair of scissors. “Well, Schlatt is, I’m not good at it.” He chuckles nervously. 

Wilbur and Techno stare at the metal incredulously. “The very least thing I could do with these scissors is give you a bad haircut.” Schlatt rolls his eyes at their expressions. “Charlie also had long hair at one point, too, so I can do all of yours at least decently.”

“I thought we promised never to bring that up again.” Slime elbows Schlatt in the side.

“You looked fucking stupid, how could I not?” Schlatt laughs. “You were a downright elf.”

“I’ve since put those days behind me.” Slime puts one hand on his heart and one in the air. “No more flowery piss boy.”

The brothers stare at Slime with a confused expression. Schlatt laughs even louder now while Slime’s face is quickly turning red. “Whatever. Tubbo’s cooler than all of you combined.” With that, he turns on his heel and leaves Schlatt standing in the doorframe.

“So who wants to go first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I finished the entirety of The Promised Neverland manga in under 16 hours while writing this?  
> Was deciding on whether to proofread it or not, but I've decided that proofreading is for the weak and also I got 5 hours of sleep last night it is 12 am  
> Not really proud of the last bit, but finally pumped this out so that's fun  
> Also made a series for this because I'm planning to do a bit more with this world after this fic is done
> 
> (As always, criticism is appreciated!)


	7. Hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *cavetown plays faintly in the background*

Schlatt cuts Techno’s hair in complete quiet, with only the occasional awkward sniff or the clearing of throats.

“You gonna say anything, kid?” The snipping of hair ceases for a moment. “‘Cause it’s getting real awkward sitting in silence.” Techno only shrugs in response accompanied by a quiet, ambiguous, hum. “At least, like, tell me about yourself or something.”

“We have names, y’know.” Techno rolls his eyes.

“I’m fully aware.” Schlatt rests his elbows on his knees, raising his eyebrows expectantly. “So?”

Techno sighs. “I like reading, I guess. ‘The Art of War’ is probably my favorite.”

“Oh?” Schlatt is genuinely surprised. “The one by Sun Tzu?” Techno nods. “That’s a bit advanced for your age, though, isn’t it?”

The younger boy shrugs. “I like it, and that’s all that matters.”

“Alright,” Schlatt says, returning to cutting his hair. “Anything else?”

“Sparring with Phil was fun. Him and I would go out and fight mobs together, too. He taught me how to use a sword, and I even got to use his netherite one once.” Techno gently smiles at the memory. Ever since they left home, the only way the brothers could deal with mobs is to run away from them, and set up as many light sources around the camp at night to deter them. They’re lucky the most they’ve gotten away with were a few scars.

“So Phil taught you survival skills, then?” Schlatt pressed.

“I was the only one interested in fighting, but we all know how to find food and start fires, and stuff like that.” Techno looks at the ground uncomfortably. “He taught us a lot of things that helped us.”

“Christ, that man is an overachiever.” Schlatt chuckles. “‘Guess he didn’t know much about kids, though, so I can’t really blame him.”

“Didn’t he live a really long time, though?” Techno asks.

“Yeah, but he didn’t want to get close to mortals. Us gods left a sour taste in his mouth, too, so he was mostly a loner.” Huh. Techno tilts his head at that. From the way Phil acted towards them he thought that he’d done it a million times over.

“Speaking of gods, where was Slime last night? I didn’t see him in the living room.” Techno ponders.

“Probably in the forest or something.” Schlatt shrugs. Techno looks over at him, confused. “Told ‘ya, you three aren’t the only ones who get nightmares.”

“What does he get nightmares about?”

“I think him and I would both like it if you asked him while I’m gone.”

“As in dead, or just not in the vicinity?”

“Preferably both.” Schlatt barks out a laugh. “That ain’t happening for a long time, though, so ask him whenever. But ‘ya can’t guarantee an answer from him. Sore spot for both of us.”

“Is that why you’re dodging the question?” Techno asks plainly.

“I-I’m not,” Schlatt sputters out. “Just protectin’ my friend’s secrecy.” He snips the last bit of long, pink hair and has to stop himself from sighing in relief. “Anyways, no more questions, we’re done here.” He stands up and begins to push Techno out of the bathroom. The boy raises an eyebrow skeptically, but doesn’t say anything as he nods.

The two walk into the room, where Tommy and Wilbur are laughing about something unknown. “Who wants to go next?” Tommy hops off the bed and pushes a lock of hair from in front of his eyes. Techno climbs onto the bed and Wilbur begins to braid it back once again.

“Alright, let’s go.” Schlatt leads Tommy into the bathroom and sweeps some pink hair off the chair before gesturing for him to sit. “So what kind of hair you want?” he asks.

“I kinda like it longer.” Tommy tugs at the overgrown strands.

“Alright.” He begins to cut Tommy’s hair, the young boy humming some off-key tune.

“Wouldn’t doing this with magic be faster?” Tommy looks behind him towards Schlatt.

“Turn back around, and yeah, I guess. It’d be less precise, though.” Tommy turns his head back around, humming in contemplation.

“How do you do magic?” he asks.

Schlatt’s thrown off by the question. “Whaddya mean?”

“Like, how?”

He pauses. “It’s just something you know how to do, I guess. I mean, it’s like asking someone how they know how to breathe, or how they know how to walk. ‘Just kinda happens, I guess.”

“Can you learn how to do magic?” Tommy presses.

“Maybe? I’ve never exactly heard of teaching someone magic. It’s usually something you’re born or gifted with, and then you learn how to harness it in useful ways.”

“Were you born with magic?”

“I mean, yeah. I was born a god.”

“Who were your parents, Schlatt?”

Schlatt inhales sharply. It’s not that he hated his parents, it’s just… they weren’t the best. It’s been so long, he barely remembers anyway. Sometimes he’s glad for the release, but sometimes he wishes his childhood was more clear to him. So he just says the facts. “The previous god of power and king of the gods. No one knew my mother.”

“Previous?” Tommy tilts his head, which Schlatt quickly corrects.

“When gods die, their power isn’t just stagnant. It’s gotta go somewhere.”

“So why’d it go to you?” the boy presses.

Schlatt pauses and grimaces. “I, uh…” He knows perfectly well why the power went to him. He doesn’t want to remember. Some days he can still feel the blood on his hands. “‘Cause I’m his son,” he lies.

“What if a god doesn’t have children?”

“It’s erm…” Wow, he really dug himself into a grave. “They choose beforehand.”

“What if they don’t?”

“It’s the first thing they do once their powers start to develop.” He tries to keep the shaking from his voice.

“Who’d you choose?”

“That’s a pretty personal question, kid. Probably shouldn’t ask that.” Schlatt hopes that’ll deter him from asking other gods, if he ever meets them. He doesn’t doubt he will, seeing as he’s stumbled upon three already.

“Oh. Sorry,” Tommy mumbles.

“S’okay. You were just curious.” Schlatt shrugs. “Why do ‘ya wanna know so much about magic?”

“I just think it’s cool. It’d be pretty badass if I could do it one day. I’d be like, POW! PEW! BAM!” The boy starts to point in different directions as he says each word, and Schlatt has to stop so he doesn’t cut him. He lets out a small chuckle.

“Alright, alright. Charlie and I could try teaching you, but I can’t guarantee that it’ll work,” Schlatt warns.

Tommy gasps in excitement. “Really? Like for real?” His eyes light up as Schlatt nods. “Fuck yeah!” He punches a fist into the air. “Can Tubbo do it, too?”

“I don’t see why not.” Schlatt shrugs. Tommy whoops happily and starts to get out of his chair, but Schlatt stops him. “I’m almost done, just give me a minute.” He sits in front of Tommy and cuts his bangs, the golden hair falling onto the floor and intertwining with the pink. Once the hair’s out of Tommy’s eyes Schlatt stops. “Alright, you’re good to go. Go tell your brother to come down when he’s ready.” Tommy nods and hops out of the chair.

“Oh, and thanks for last night, I guess.” He looks down awkwardly.

“Uh, no problem.” Schlatt scratches the back of his neck. Tommy nods then runs down the hallway. Schlatt hears the boy talking loudly and the creaking of the bed as slightly more spaced out footsteps walk down the hallway. Wilbur stops in the doorframe and looks less-than-excited to be alone with the god.

“C’mon, I don’t bite.” Schlatt rolls his eyes and sweeps the hair off the chair once again, gesturing towards it.

“That’s a creepy thing to say.” Wilbur stares at the seat.

“It’s a common expression.” Schlatt bristles. “Look, just let me cut your hair.” Wilbur rolls his eyes and falls into the chair with a loud  _ thunk,  _ crossing his arms. “So how long should I cut it?”

Wilbur moves his finger a few inches away from his split ends. “To here.”

“You’re the boss.” Schlatt begins to snip away at the brown curls in silence. Wilbur’s hair has puffed up quite a bit from finally being washed after 7 months, which makes it a pain for Schlatt to cut. “Was Techno’s hair like this, too?” he asks, growling in struggle.

“It was a bit more tame, but yeah.” Wilbur says plainly, not wanting to talk more.

“Was that old man just good at everything, or something? How did he deal with this?” Schlatt mumbles, more to himself than the kid sitting in front of him. “Fucking hell, he was a poster child and a half.”

“Phil was ass at cutting hair.” Wilbur lets out a small laugh. “He got okay by the time Tommy came around, though.”

“How old were you when Phil adopted you?” Schlatt asks, trying to find a foothold of conversation.

“Five, I think. Old enough to remember our biological parents, anyway. Tommy was adopted a year later.” Wilbur shrugs.

“Who were your biological parents?”

Wilbur pauses for a few moments to think, and his eyes widen. “I… don’t remember…” He goes silent in quiet contemplation, but his thoughts are wild.

“Oh, uh…” Schlatt doesn’t know what to say. “What do you like to do, then?” he asks, changing the subject.

Wilbur’s grateful for the distraction, even if it is from Schlatt. “I like playing guitar and chess. Puzzles are fun, too, though.”

“Guitar, eh? Didn’t take you for the singing type.”

“I wrote a few songs, too. I doubt my voice is any good right now, though. I only sang a bit while we were living in the wilderness. They sound pretty depressing acapella, so I didn’t really want to sing.” Wilbur looks towards the ground solemnly. “It just made me sad.”

“We don’t have a guitar here, but we have a lute. We could always make a decent one with magic, though,” Schlatt ponders, almost finished with the boy’s hair.

“You could?”

“What do you take me for, a fucking dud? Of course I could.” Schlatt rolls his eyes. “Charlie’d probably be better at it, though, unless you wanted to make it out of solid gold. Which I doubt.”

“So what  _ are  _ you good at?” Wilbur asks. “I mean magic wise. I know what you’re good at.”

Schlatt doesn’t like where this is going, but he raises an eyebrow and hums questioningly. “And that is?”

“Being a fucking bitch.” Wilbur turns around, a glare and a half-stifled smile on his face.

“ _ You little shit. _ ” Schlatt smiles in half-irritation, half-amusement. “I might as well kick you out now.”

“I will cry. Don’t test me,” Wilbur menaces. “That’s a threat.”

“Is that supposed to be threatening?”

Wilbur hums happily and turns back around. “When Technoblade is your older twin, it is,” he says, his voice sing-songy and sickly sweet.

“You’re using your brother to threaten me?” Schlatt asks incredulously.

“Ayup. He’s very good at fighting.” Wilbur affirms, a slight smile on his face.

“Is he, now? Strong enough to kill me?”

“He beat Phil a few times.”

“I bet he was going easy on him.”

“You can believe whatever you want.”

Schlatt can feel his eye twitch. How can this kid go from a quiet asshole to cocky little shit in two seconds? Whatever, might as well answer the original question. “To answer your question, my status gives me the power to control and manipulate people’s emotions, thoughts, et cetera, and it makes me an excellent businessman. I can talk with goats, too.” Schlatt moves energy to his hand and watches the air bend and distort, until a golden coin with an ‘S’ carved into it appears into his palm. “I can make this, too.” He holds the coin between his pointer and middle finger and shows it off to Wilbur. “That’s just the basics, though.”

Wilbur hums in contemplation. “I see.” Schlatt finishes off the rest of the boy’s hair and uses a bit of magic to tame it down. Wilbur’s scalp tingles at the sensation. “Weird” is all he says before the steps off the chair and walks down the hallway to join his brothers.

Slime walks into the bathroom and leans on the doorframe. “So?” he asks. “How’d it go?”

Schlatt stands up and puts the scissors on the bathroom counter. “You’re cleaning this up.” He gets up and walks into his room. Slime sticks his tongue out at his friend, but Schlatt’s already too far down the hallway. He smiles slightly.

\--------

“So magic, huh?” Techno tilts his head. “I wonder what yours would look like.”

“I bet it’s something super cool.” Tommy puts his hand on his chest proudly.

Techno pokes the side of Tommy’s head. “I bet it’s something dumb. It’d be a dark brown or something.”

“No! It’s totally sparkly and gold! Like a firework!” Tommy laughs.

“That sounds like a hassle,” Techno sighs.

“But it’d be cool as shit.”

Techno flicks his younger brother in the forehead. “No swearing.”

“You’re no fun,” Tommy groans.

Wilbur creaks the door open and hops back onto the bed. “What’s this about swearing? Is Tommy carrying on my legacy?” He ruffles his younger brother’s newly cut hair, his blonde locks still messy from not brushing it, but at least it’s clean.

Techno leans forward and slides off the bed.

“Where are you going?” Wilbur tilts his head, confused.

“I’ll be right back,” Techno says. He opens the door and sees Tubbo’s face right in front of his. “Oh, hey.” The two awkwardly side step around each other and Techno power walks down the hallway and peers into each open door. He reaches the bathroom and sees the firefly-like lights scattered around the room, hair of different colors being lifted up by Slime’s magic.

“Hey.” Slime jumps from the sudden sound.

“Jeez, you scared me.” He chuckles nervously. “You really  _ are  _ quiet.” With a flick of his wrist, he throws the floating hair into a small trash can. “So whaddya need?” He turns around to face Techno.

“What do you get nightmares about?” the boy asks plainly.

“Jeez, dude. That’s heavy.” Slime’s caught off guard by the question. “Why do you think I get nightmares?”

“Schlatt told me.” Techno crosses his arms. “I was curious since you weren’t in the living room last night.”

Slime stares at Techno. That must’ve been midnight, why was the boy up that late? He can’t believe Schlatt actually told him about that. He sighs and sits on the chair still in the middle of the room. He gestures to the floor and Techno sits. “So you want the dramatic version or the plain one?”

“Plain, preferably.” Techno tilts his head.

“Damn. Was hoping you’d want the dramatic one. It’d make it easier for me.” He sighs. “Alright, let me tell you a story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY UH sorry for the very late update i didn't have any motivation to write like at all so uh yeah sorry about that (,:
> 
> anyways like,,,,,,,,,,,, fanart would be pretty pog,,,,,,,,,, i mean you don't have to but,,,,,,,,,,, like,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, :pleading_face:  
> but seriously fanart would be super duper cool and idk if it's like rude to ask????? idk man but like it'd be super swag so uh use the hashtag #orphansandgods on instagram because i don't have a twitter i mean you could use twitter if you want but i probably won't see it lol
> 
> i'm not gonna say my instagram but trust me i will check the hashtag every 30 minutes after i post this and will like every single one
> 
> i talked about fanart for too long aha i don't mean to be self centered or anything i still don't know if it's rude but like okaybyesorryhopeyoulikedthechapter
> 
> (as always, criticism is appreciated!)


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